El Al to stop flying over Saudi Arabia, Oman on flights to Asia

Tel Aviv: According to several Hebrew media reports, Israeli flag carrier El Al has decided to stop flying over Saudi Arabia and Oman on its flights to Southeast Asia, significantly lengthening their flying time.

A flight to Bangkok will now take 11.5 hours instead of 8.5 hours - reverting back to the lengthy route it took for years, until earlier this year, Times of Israel reported.

Reports indicate that the decision was made due to security concerns and could be temporary, the report said.

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said that Israel’s new, second phase of war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip may last for “months", and the military expects it will be insufficient on its own to fully uproot the terror organisation that has governed the coastal territory for the past 16 years.

War cabinet member Gallant said the current expanded ground activity, which began on Friday evening, and an expected larger-scale ground maneuver, are only the second of four planned phases to the war.

Israel opened the campaign with a three-week-long aerial bombardment of the Strip and limited ground raids, following Hamas’ onslaught on October 7, the most devastating attack in Israel’s history, Times of Israel reported.